Last updated: September 9, 2026. Departure dates apply to HBO Max in the United States and may change as streaming licenses are updated.
Every month brings new movies and shows to HBO Max, but the other side of that equation is easy to overlook: plenty of titles are also preparing to leave.
September 2026 is an especially interesting month for departures. While several newer movies are disappearing throughout the month, a much larger collection of classic and international films is currently scheduled to leave HBO Max near the end of September.
That means viewers have limited time remaining to catch acclaimed movies including Sing Sing, Queer, Seven Samurai, High and Low and several other major pieces of film history before they rotate out of the service.
If something on your HBO Max watchlist has been sitting there for months, now might be the time to stop scrolling and finally watch it.
TL;DR: What’s Leaving HBO Max in September 2026?
- Sing Sing – leaving later in September
- Queer – leaving later in September
- The Crimson Pirate – leaving September 29
- Seven Samurai – leaving September 30
- High and Low – leaving September 30
- Modern Times – leaving September 30
- The Great Dictator – leaving September 30
- The Wages of Fear – leaving September 30
- Three Colors: Red – leaving September 30
- The Passion of Joan of Arc – leaving September 30
- The Red Shoes – leaving September 30
HBO Max departure information can change during the month, particularly for licensed films. We will update this guide if additional titles or revised expiration dates are confirmed.
The Best Movies To Watch Before They Leave HBO Max
You probably will not have time to watch everything leaving this month, so these are the departures we would prioritize first.
Sing Sing
Leaving HBO Max: Later in September 2026
Genre: Drama
Starring: Colman Domingo, Clarence Maclin
Watch it if you like: Powerful character-driven dramas
If Sing Sing has been sitting on your HBO Max watchlist, September is the time to finally move it to the top.
Colman Domingo stars as Divine G, an incarcerated man who finds purpose through the Rehabilitation Through the Arts theater program inside Sing Sing Correctional Facility.
The film stands apart from many prison dramas because it is far less interested in violence or escape than it is in humanity. Theater gives the men an opportunity to be vulnerable, creative and expressive inside an institution that rarely encourages those qualities.
Several members of the cast participated in the real Rehabilitation Through the Arts program, giving the movie an unusual degree of authenticity.
Domingo is exceptional, but Clarence Maclin nearly matches him scene for scene.
This is easily one of the most significant HBO Max departures this month.
Queer
Leaving HBO Max: Later in September 2026
Genre: Drama, Romance
Starring: Daniel Craig, Drew Starkey, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Luca Guadagnino
Daniel Craig moves far away from James Bond territory in Luca Guadagnino’s Queer.
Based on William S. Burroughs’ novel, the film follows William Lee, an American expatriate living in Mexico City during the 1950s whose solitary existence changes after he becomes infatuated with a younger man named Eugene Allerton.
Craig gives one of the more unusual performances of his career, playing a character defined by loneliness, desire and self-destructive impulses.
Guadagnino approaches the story with the sensuality and visual confidence viewers might expect from the filmmaker behind Call Me by Your Name and Challengers, but Queer eventually moves into far stranger territory.
Viewers interested in adventurous adult dramas should try to catch it before it leaves HBO Max.
Seven Samurai
Leaving HBO Max: September 30, 2026
Genre: Drama, Action
Director: Akira Kurosawa
Best for: Anyone interested in film history or action cinema
Calling Seven Samurai influential almost feels like an understatement.
Akira Kurosawa’s 1954 masterpiece follows a farming village threatened by bandits. Unable to defend themselves, the villagers recruit a group of masterless samurai who agree to help prepare them for the coming attack.
The basic structure—assemble a team of specialists and prepare for an impossible battle—has been reused in countless movies since.
The Magnificent Seven directly transported the premise into the American West, while elements of Kurosawa’s filmmaking can be found throughout modern action, science fiction and adventure cinema.
At more than three hours, this is not something to start ten minutes before midnight on September 30. Give it an evening.
High and Low
Leaving HBO Max: September 30, 2026
Genre: Crime, Thriller, Drama
Director: Akira Kurosawa
Starring: Toshiro Mifune
Seven Samurai may be Kurosawa’s most famous movie, but High and Low makes an equally convincing argument for his versatility.
Toshiro Mifune plays wealthy executive Kingo Gondo, whose plans to gain control of his company are interrupted when a kidnapper demands an enormous ransom.
There is one problem: the kidnapper accidentally abducted his chauffeur’s son instead of Gondo’s child.
That mistake turns the ransom into a brutal moral dilemma. Is Gondo obligated to sacrifice his fortune for someone else’s child?
The film gradually transforms from a tense chamber drama into a police procedural while examining wealth, class and the enormous distance separating different parts of the same city.
Crime thriller fans who have never explored Kurosawa beyond his samurai films should make this a priority.
Modern Times
Leaving HBO Max: September 30, 2026
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Starring: Charlie Chaplin, Paulette Goddard
Charlie Chaplin’s Modern Times may have been released in 1936, but its satire of automation, work and people struggling to survive an economic system that treats them like machinery remains surprisingly recognizable.
Chaplin’s Little Tramp attempts to survive increasingly absurd industrial jobs while repeatedly running into trouble.
One of the movie’s most famous sequences literally sends Chaplin through the gears of a massive machine.
It is funny on the surface, but Chaplin’s comedy is built around anxieties that audiences experiencing rapid technological change can still understand nearly a century later.
The Great Dictator
Leaving HBO Max: September 30, 2026
Genre: Comedy, Satire, Drama
Starring: Charlie Chaplin, Paulette Goddard
Charlie Chaplin took an enormous creative risk with The Great Dictator.
Released in 1940, the film openly mocked Adolf Hitler and fascism at a time when the United States had not yet entered World War II.
Chaplin plays two roles: a Jewish barber and Adenoid Hynkel, the dictator of the fictional nation of Tomainia.
The film contains some of Chaplin’s most memorable comedy, including Hynkel’s famous dance with an inflatable globe, but the satire eventually gives way to one of the actor and director’s most serious moments.
It is an important piece of both comedy history and political filmmaking.
The Wages of Fear
Leaving HBO Max: September 30, 2026
Genre: Thriller, Adventure, Drama
Director: Henri-Georges Clouzot
A group of desperate men agree to transport trucks filled with nitroglycerin across dangerous terrain.
That is essentially all The Wages of Fear needs to create more tension than most modern action movies.
Every bump in the road becomes potentially catastrophic because the cargo could explode with little warning.
Director Henri-Georges Clouzot stretches that simple premise into an exercise in sustained suspense while also examining poverty, desperation and the circumstances that would convince someone to accept such a dangerous job.
William Friedkin later reworked the same source material into Sorcerer, another excellent thriller.
Three Colors: Red
Leaving HBO Max: September 30, 2026
Genre: Drama, Romance, Mystery
Director: Krzysztof Kieślowski
Three Colors: Red concludes Krzysztof Kieślowski’s celebrated Three Colors trilogy.
The film centers on Valentine, a young model whose life becomes connected to a retired judge after she accidentally hits his dog.
Their relationship grows stranger when Valentine discovers that the judge spends his time secretly listening to his neighbors’ telephone conversations.
Kieślowski uses the unusual friendship to explore chance, morality, loneliness and the invisible ways strangers’ lives intersect.
Although it functions as the conclusion to a trilogy, Red can still be appreciated on its own.
The Passion of Joan of Arc
Leaving HBO Max: September 30, 2026
Genre: Historical Drama
Director: Carl Theodor Dreyer
Starring: Renée Jeanne Falconetti
Nearly a century after its release, The Passion of Joan of Arc remains one of silent cinema’s defining achievements.
Carl Theodor Dreyer focuses on Joan of Arc’s trial rather than attempting to create a sprawling historical epic.
Much of the movie is built from faces.
Dreyer’s relentless close-ups place viewers directly inside the interrogation while Renée Jeanne Falconetti delivers a performance that has remained a reference point for screen acting since 1928.
Anyone trying to explore important films from the silent era should take advantage of its HBO Max availability before September ends.
The Red Shoes
Leaving HBO Max: September 30, 2026
Genre: Drama, Romance, Music
Directors: Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger
Few movies about artistic obsession look as spectacular as The Red Shoes.
Moira Shearer stars as Victoria Page, a talented ballerina torn between her commitment to dance and her relationship with composer Julian Craster.
The movie’s famous ballet sequence abandons conventional realism and transforms the stage into a cinematic fantasy, demonstrating how film can portray the internal experience of performance rather than simply recording it.
Its influence stretches through generations of filmmakers, making it another worthwhile choice before HBO Max’s classic-film rotation at the end of September.
The Crimson Pirate
Leaving HBO Max: September 29, 2026
Genre: Adventure, Comedy
Starring: Burt Lancaster
For something considerably lighter before the month ends, there is The Crimson Pirate.
Burt Lancaster stars as Captain Vallo in a colorful 1952 adventure that mixes pirates, romance, rebellion and physical comedy.
Lancaster’s background as an acrobat becomes obvious throughout the film, giving the action an energetic physical quality long before digital effects made seemingly impossible stunts commonplace.
It may not carry the cultural weight of some of the other classics leaving HBO Max, but it remains an entertaining example of old-school Hollywood adventure filmmaking.
Movies And Shows That Have Already Left HBO Max This September
Because this guide is being updated during the month rather than on September 1, several departures have already occurred.
Earlier September removals included:
- The 33
- No Responders Left Behind
- Heretic
If you were hoping to catch Heretic through HBO Max, its September streaming window has already ended.
More HBO Max Titles Leaving Later In September
Additional movies, specials and series currently scheduled to rotate out during the remainder of September include:
- Deep Revenge
- Naked Attraction
- Impractical Jokers Australia
- The World Between Us
- Queen of the World
- Erik Rivera: Super White
- Gina Brillon: Easily Offended
- Jerry Garcia: It’s Not My Weekend
- Orlando Leyba: Adorable
- My Name Is Bulger
- Y2K
A number of Entre Nos comedy specials are also currently expected to leave during the month.
A Major Classic-Movie Rotation Is Coming At The End Of September
The biggest story surrounding HBO Max departures this month may be the size of its classic-film rotation.
Current streaming trackers indicate that a significant group of older movies is scheduled to disappear at the end of September, including films associated with the Criterion-style and international-classics side of HBO Max’s library.
Among the most notable titles currently flagged for September 30 are Seven Samurai, High and Low, Modern Times, The Great Dictator, The Wages of Fear, Three Colors: Red, The Passion of Joan of Arc and The Red Shoes.
That makes September an unusually good month to dig into HBO Max’s deeper movie catalog instead of focusing exclusively on recent Hollywood releases.
Why Do Movies Leave HBO Max?
Warner Bros. Discovery owns HBO Max, but that does not mean every movie on the platform belongs permanently to the company.
Streaming libraries are built from a combination of studio-owned content and licensing agreements. Those agreements can specify how long a movie may remain available, where it can stream and whether another service receives the next window.
Even older Warner Bros. titles can occasionally rotate because distribution rights may be more complicated than simply identifying which studio originally released a film.
Movies can also leave HBO Max temporarily and return months later when a new licensing window begins.
What Should You Watch Before It Leaves HBO Max?
If you only have time for a few movies before September ends, these would be our priorities:
- For a recent drama: Sing Sing
- For an acting showcase: Queer
- For an essential classic: Seven Samurai
- For a crime thriller: High and Low
- For comedy: Modern Times
- For suspense: The Wages of Fear
- For international cinema: Three Colors: Red
- For silent cinema: The Passion of Joan of Arc
- For something visually spectacular: The Red Shoes
Frequently Asked Questions About What’s Leaving HBO Max
What’s leaving HBO Max in September 2026?
Major movies currently scheduled to leave HBO Max during September 2026 include Sing Sing, Queer, The Crimson Pirate, Seven Samurai, High and Low, Modern Times, The Great Dictator and several other classic films.
Is Sing Sing leaving HBO Max?
Yes. Sing Sing is currently scheduled to leave HBO Max later in September 2026. The acclaimed drama stars Colman Domingo and Clarence Maclin.
Is Queer leaving HBO Max?
Yes. Luca Guadagnino’s Queer, starring Daniel Craig and Drew Starkey, is currently scheduled to leave HBO Max later in September.
Is Seven Samurai leaving HBO Max?
Yes. Akira Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai is currently scheduled to leave HBO Max on September 30, 2026, as part of a sizable rotation of classic and international movies.
Did Heretic leave HBO Max?
Yes. Heretic, starring Hugh Grant, Sophie Thatcher and Chloe East, was among the movies scheduled to leave HBO Max earlier in September 2026.
Do HBO Max movies ever come back after leaving?
Yes. A departure does not necessarily mean a movie is gone permanently. Licensed films frequently rotate between streaming services and may return to HBO Max after several months or after another distribution window expires.
When does HBO Max remove movies?
Most titles disappear once their stated licensing window ends. For movies scheduled through the end of a month, viewers should avoid assuming they will remain available throughout the final night and should watch them earlier whenever possible.
How often is this list updated?
This guide is updated throughout the month when new departure dates become available or previously announced expiration dates change.
Don’t Wait Until The Last Night
Streaming libraries make it easy to assume a movie will still be there whenever you finally decide to watch it.
September 2026 is a good reminder that this is not always the case.
Newer acclaimed movies like Sing Sing and Queer are preparing to rotate out, while the end of the month could remove a significant collection of classic films from HBO Max in one sweep.
If Seven Samurai, High and Low, Modern Times or any of the other movies above have been sitting in your queue, now is probably the time.
Check back throughout September as we continue updating what’s leaving HBO Max this month with newly confirmed departures and any changes to existing dates.
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